[Bug]: Procedural Generation of SEED for TECH Slots

[Data-Spirit]

📋 Guidelines

• I have encountered this bug in the latest release of NMSE.
• I have encountered this bug in the official downloads of NMSE.
• I have searched the issue tracker for open and closed issues that are similar to the bug report I want to file, without success.
• I have searched the documentation for information that matches the description of the bug I want to file, without success.
• This issue contains only one bug.
• I have read and agree to follow the code of conduct.

🐞 Bug Description

After using the “item picker” tool to generate X techs on my corvette, I noticed that when I added the item via a “right-click,” it had a generation seed.
However, when I used the tool on the right and selected “apply changes,” it didn’t have a seed.

But that’s not the most problematic part of the bug. Since I already knew some seeds for maxed-out X TECHs, I entered the values for each of the techs like this

(screen 1)

But when I switch between my ships and return to my corvette, all the techs have had their seeds “corrupted”—in fact, the editor adds a seed on top of the one already entered

(screen 2 and 3)

(The TECHS are still present, but they no longer appear because they have two seeds)

You can see on the TECH that when I switched ships (to check some seeds on a ship in another slot) and returned to the ship where I had entered my seeds, the editor had changed them all by adding another randomly generated seed.

⚙️ Steps to Reproduce

1. Enter your own seeds manually.
2. Switch to a different ship slot, then return to the ship you were making changes to.

🔎 Expected Behavior

Switching ship slots to check other seeds or other elements of another ship should not change the seeds that have already been entered.

💻 Environment

• OS: Windows 11 Pro
• Version: 25H2
• Branch/Commit: main/NMSE v1.0.393 (preview)

💬 Additional Information

A small change or addition to the editor menu could, in my opinion, be useful.
I've tweaked the menu and included the before-and-after comparison below:

(Since this indirectly relates to the bug, I've added it here, but I can submit it as a separate feature request)

With this layout, it allows:

• Distinguishing between the selected slot and the selected item in the item picker
• Having a separate field for the procedurally generated SEED (and using it to change it as needed or desired)
• Having a separate field for the seed could allow for adding a “generate seed” button right next to it later on to change the seed on the fly.
• To add the “Add Item” button, which clearly distinguishes the selected slot (and its “active” item) from the chosen item that will replace the one already present
• The “Add Item” button will also allow, on empty slots, to add the same TECH or selected item quickly (which can currently also be done with a right-click)

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❤️ Thank you for helping improve NMSE!

[vectorcmdr]

Reproduced. Yep, that is cooked. I'll take a look at this tomorrow as a priority.

[vectorcmdr]

Issue has been identified and the fix is incoming.
Also making the change to the UI as suggested, I agree it would be a good improvement.

[vectorcmdr]

I must have been melted when I checked off on that functionality 🥴, it was all sorts of wrong - but fixed now in the latest build hopefully.

Please let me know how you go when you have time.

[Data-Spirit]

Haha, no worries, these things happen!
So after a few tests, everything seems to be working normally on the SEED generation side.

I only ran into two minor issues, but they aren't directly related to the bug.
The first was that the editor sometimes made all the corvette TECHS disappear (the ones that get added when you build your corvette), even though they were clearly present in the game.
I tried to reproduce the bug one way or another, but it seems to be somewhat random, and I haven’t (yet) found a way to make it reproducible so I can identify it.
(The game might have something to do with it, because often after I reload my game, the TECHS have moved around and everything is all mixed up.)

The second issue stems from the fact that I am sometimes forced, in the item picker, to “reselect” an item in order to add it (it’s as if it deselects itself).
This happens when you click on a slot that already has a tech installed.
In addition to being clearer and more practical, this is also why I suggested adding a “thumbnail” that would show us the selected item, along with an “add item” button to add it to the selected slot.
This way, we would always clearly see, on one hand, the selected slot and the item’s properties in that slot, and on the other hand, the item generated below it, which will replace the one in the slot.
When changing a ship’s TECHS, I think this makes the process clearer.

In any case, as far as SEED generation goes, I haven’t encountered any issues! Great job fixing the bugs! 👍

[vectorcmdr]

Glad it's working and fixed.

For the corvette tech, this sounds like the game pack/unpack for corvettes where they aren't able to access the technology due to being "stored" in the save.

For the item picker change, I'll have a re-read tomorrow and look at possible changes. I will leave this open for now and link to a new issue to pursue it.

[vectorcmdr]

I had a re-read and a scan over the image with fresh eyes this morning but want to make sure I get the idea correctly.
To explain what I understand the change to be:

Section [1]: current Slot Details
Section [2]: the Item Picker with a new "add item" section with icon and add item button

Slot Details [1] would allow you to see the current item in that slot and modify it (but also reference it while surfing for items in the picker)
Item Picker [2] would allow you to see the picked item and apply overwrites via the values and the "add item" button into the slot, mutually exclusive of Slot Details [1] (i.e. [1] and [2] would never interact)

If I'm understanding, it stems from the issue that when you select an item in the picker, click an occupied slot, and then the item details change to that item, while the picker shows the previouslly selected item - but to get that item so you can apply it as the change, you need to reselect it from the picker through the full filter chain of drop down lists (or at very least, the Item: one (last one)?

If above is wrong, could you further explain the "need to reselect" flow?

If the above is right and I get the idea, I understand the advantage, but need to think about a best way to implement as there are other small caveats that need some consideration, for instance the item picker item you are looking at wouldn't display a description on selection unless there is a secondary description section added also, which makes the side panel a lot longer. There are also some internals (boring stuff) that would need looking at.

I do agree (if I am getting the idea) that an improved flow that doesn't require re-selection would speed tweaking ships etc. up significantly and reduce redundant input. I would like to eliminate that.

Please let me know when you can and I will create an issue to reflect the feature request for it and link this to it.

[Data-Spirit]

Yes, that's exactly right—you've understood perfectly and grasped the intent behind this suggestion (as well as the solution to the problem of having to reselect the item after clicking on a different slot). 👍

Actually, you’ve raised a very interesting point (regarding the size if we add a description to the section below).
Couldn’t a “details” or “info” button—to view all the details of a part—be a solution, both to “save” space in the section and to provide users who want it with the details of the part they’re adding or selecting?
(This is just a suggestion, of course, but it’s a solution I’ve seen in quite a few other editors, and it seems to work well)

In any case, you’ve perfectly understood the intent of my proposal:
(to recap)
-Section 1 = Only for the selected slot => displays the slot (if it’s empty) or the selected item/TECH.
We could change its procedural generation #Number (if it’s a tech) or view its properties (name/value/quantity... etc.)

-Section 2 = Only for the item selector => displays the selected/chosen item after a search.
This will be applied to the slot after confirming the addition via the “add item” button.

Additionally, regarding the element you mentioned, adding an “ℹ️” icon or an info/details button to avoid cluttering the panel. (Should this be added to Panel 2 only, or to both panels ?? Both solutions seem viable to me.)

[vectorcmdr]

Perfect, thanks! I wasn't 100% sure so wanted to confirm.
I have setup a feature request ticket to track it and any further discussion.

Going to close this one out now as the bug is taken care of and we can continue the discussion regarding the panel enhancement in the new ones (FR #44).